1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a composite substance and to a method for its manufacture; in particular, it relates to composite substance consisting of a conjugated polymer produced from a metal alkoxide, silane coupling agent, and, when necessary, an organic monomer, with high mechanical strength, excellent heat-stability and resistance to chemicals, and superior workability.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Inorganic compounds (including inorganic polymers) have excellent heat-stability, mechanical strength, and resistance to chemicals. On the other hand, organic polymers are flexible and have excellent workability, and they are soluble in organic solvents. Organic polymers such as aromatic polyamides that have high tensile strength, high elastic coefficients, and excellent heat-resistance have also been developed.
Preparation of a composite has been carried out in which the special characteristics such as these of inorganic compounds or inorganic polymers and these of organic polymers are combined. This kind of a composite can be manufactured by, for example, the following methods: (1) a method in which a powder of an inorganic substance, for example, a metallic powder, is mixed with an organic polymer; (2) a method in which an inorganic fiber is incorporated into an organic polymer; and (3) a method in which glass microballoons are incorporated into an organic polymer. However, because the composites that are obtained by these methods are all essentially simple mixtures that contain an organic polymer and an inorganic substance, the heat-stability and mechanical strength of the composites are not satisfactory. Also, it is difficult to mix the inorganic substances uniformly with the organic polymers, and to achieve a uniform mixture, a complicated procedure is needed. The result is that the composite obtained has a high cost.
In order to solve the difficulties mentioned above, there have been suggested several methods by which the inorganic material is given the characteristics of organic substances. In one method among them, specific elements are chemically bound to the inorganic material for the purpose of improving the characteristics of the inorganic material for example, nitrogen is introduced into a carbon material to give a carbon nitride, said carbon material thereby having improved characteristics. In another method, the binding between the atoms of the inorganic molecules or the arrangement of the inorganic molecules is changed. Also, there is a method in which an organic polymer is reacted with a metallic compound, or a method in which an organic functional group is introduced into the framework of the inorganic polymer. The compounds obtained by such methods include silicone polymer containing boron and inorganic polymer containing nitrogen. However, in such composite substances as these, the inorganic molecules and the organic molecules are not bound on the molecular level. These composite materials comprise either the inorganic polymer or else the organic polymers as a major component, into which functional groups are introduced, or else a part of which is modified. Accordingly, the characteristics of the composite substance that is obtained are almost exactly the same as the properties of the major component (thus, they have the properties of the inorganic polymer or else the properties of the organic polymer). Also, when an organic functional group is introduced into an inorganic polymer, reagents that are uncommon and expensive are used. Furthermore, the reaction is a violent one. For that reason, this kind of method is not suited for practical use.